19 U.S. Code § 1516 - Petitions by domestic interested parties

(1) The Secretary shall, upon written request by an interested party furnish the classification and the rate of duty imposed upon designated imported merchandise of a class or kind manufactured, produced, or sold at wholesale by such interested party. If the interested party believes that the appraised value, the classification, or rate of duty is not correct, it may file a petition with the Secretary setting forth—

(A)

a description of the merchandise,

(B)

the appraised value, the classification, or the rate of duty that it believes proper, and

(C)

the reasons for its belief.

(2) As used in this section, the term “interested party” means a person who is—

(A)

a manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler in the United States;

(B)

a certified union or recognized union or group of workers which is representative of an industry engaged in the manufacture, production, or wholesale in the United States; or

(C)

a trade or business association a majority of whose members are manufacturers, producers, or wholesalers in the United States,

of goods of the same class or kind as the designated imported merchandise. Such term includes an association, a majority of whose members is composed of persons described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (C).

(3)

Any producer of a raw agricultural product who is considered under section 1677(4)(E) of this title to be part of the industry producing a processed agricultural product of the same class or kind as the designated imported merchandise shall, for purposes of this section, be treated as an interested party producing such processed agricultural product.

(b) Determination on petition

If, after receipt and consideration of a petition filed by such an interested party, the Secretary determines that the appraised value, the classification, or rate of duty is not correct, he shall determine the proper appraised value, classification, or rate of duty and shall notify the petitioner of his determination. All such merchandise entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption more than thirty days after the date such notice to the petitioner is published in the weekly Customs Bulletin shall be appraised, classified, or assessed as to the rate of duty in accordance with the Secretary’s determination.

(c) Contest by petitioner of appraised value, classification, or rate of duty

If the Secretary determines that the appraised value, classification, or rate of duty with respect to which a petition was filed pursuant to subsection (a) of this section is correct, he shall notify the petitioner. If dissatisfied with the determination of the Secretary, the petitioner may file with the Secretary, not later than thirty days after the date of the notification, notice that it desires to contest the appraised value, classification, or rate of duty. Upon receipt of notice from the petitioner, the Secretary shall cause publication to be made of his determination as to the proper appraised value, classification, or rate of duty and of the petitioner’s desire to contest, and shall thereafter furnish the petitioner with such information as to the entries and consignees of such merchandise, entered after the publication of the determination of the Secretary, at such ports of entry designated by the petitioner in his notice of desire to contest, as will enable the petitioner to contest the appraised value, classification, or rate of duty imposed upon such merchandise in the liquidation of one such entry at such port. The Secretary shall direct the appropriate customs officer at such ports to immediately notify the petitioner by mail when the first of such entries is liquidated.

(d) Appraisal, classification, and liquidation of entries of merchandise covered by published decisions of Secretary

(e) Consignee or his agent as party in interest before the Court of International Trade

The consignee or his agent shall have the right to appear and to be heard as a party in interest before the United States Court of International Trade.

(f) Appraisement, classification, and assessment of duty of merchandise covered by published decision of Secretary in accordance with final judicial decision of Court of International Trade or Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit sustaining cause of action in whole or in part; suspension of liquidation of entries; publication

If the cause of action is sustained in whole or in part by a decision of the United States Court of International Trade or of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, merchandise of the character covered by the published decision of the Secretary, which is entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption after the date of publication in the Federal Register by the Secretary or the administering authority of a notice of the court decision, shall be subject to appraisement, classification, and assessment of duty in accordance with the final judicial decision in the action, and the liquidation of entries covering the merchandise so entered or withdrawn shall be suspended until final disposition is made of the action, whereupon the entries shall be liquidated, or if necessary, reliquidated in accordance with the final decision. Such notice of the court decision shall be published within ten days from the date of the issuance of the court decision.

(g) Regulations implementing required procedures

Regulations shall be prescribed by the Secretary to implement the procedures required under this section.

Provisions similar to those in this section were contained in act Sept. 21, 1922, ch. 356, title IV, § 516, 42 Stat. 970. That section was superseded by section 516 of act June 17, 1930, comprising this section, and repealed by section 651(a)(1) of the 1930 act.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–417, §§ 601(6), 607(b), redesignated the United States Customs Court as the United States Court of International Trade and substituted reference to chapter 169 for section 2632 of title 28.

Subsecs. (e), (f). Pub. L. 96–417, § 601(6), redesignated the United States Customs Court as the United States Court of International Trade.

1979—Pub. L. 96–39 completely revised the section to provide an expedited process for judicial review of an appealable determination, expanded the size of the group of parties having standing to obtain review of an appealable determination, and, in the process, revised subsecs. (a), (b), and (c), redesignated former subsecs. (e), (f), (g), and (h) as (d), (e), (f), and (g), and struck out former subsec. (d) relating to the contest of the Secretary’s determination that foreign merchandise was not being sold in the United States at less than fair value or that bounty or grant was not being paid.

1970—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 91–271 substituted provisions requiring the Secretary to furnish to the American manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler the classification, and the rate of duty, if any, imposed upon designated imported merchandise, and provisions authorizing the American manufacturer, etc., to file a protest with the Secretary if the appraised value is too low, the classification is not correct, or the proper rate of duty is not being assessed, for provisions setting forth the procedure for the determination of a protest by an American manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler that the appraised value of any imported merchandise of a class or kind manufactured, produced, or sold at wholesale by him is too low.

Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 91–271 substituted provisions authorizing the Secretary to determine the proper appraised value, classification, or rate of duty of the imported merchandise, and to notify the American manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler of his determination, for provision setting forth the procedure for the determination of a protest by an American manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler that the classification of, and the rate of duty, if any, is not proper.

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 91–271 substituted provisions setting forth the procedure for the petitioner to contest the decisions of the Secretary with respect to a petition filed pursuant to subsec. (a) of this section, for provisions requiring the collector to mail to the consignee or his agent a copy of every appeal and every protest filed by an American manufacturer, producer, or wholesaler, and authorizing such consignee or his agent to appear and be heard as a party in interest before the Customs Court.

1948—Subsec. (b). Act June 25, 1948, repealed last sentence relating to procedure of proceeding over all other cases on Customs Court docket. See sections 2602 and 2638 of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.

Subsec. (c). Act June 25, 1948, repealed last sentence relating to finality of Customs Court’s decision. See section 2637 of Title 28.

“The amendment made by subsection (f) [amending this section and section 160 of this title], resulting from questions of dumping raised or presented on or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 3, 1975].”sections 2631 and 2632 of Title 28,

Amendment by act June 25, 1938, effective on thirtieth day following June 25, 1938, except as otherwise specifically provided, see section 37 of act June 25, 1938, set out as a note under section 1401 of this title.

Transfer of Functions

Functions of Secretary of the Treasury under this section insofar as they relate to any protest, petition, or notice of desire to contest described in section 1002(b)(1) of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, set out as a note under section 1516a of this title, transferred to Secretary of Commerce pursuant to Reorg. Plan No. 3 of 1979, § 5(a)(1)(D), 44 F.R. 69275, 93 Stat. 1381, eff. Jan. 2, 1980, as provided by section 1–107(a) of Ex. Ord. No. 11288, Jan. 2, 1980, 45 F.R. 993, set out as notes under section 2171 of this title.

Plan Amendments Not Required Until January 1, 1989

For provisions directing that if any amendments made by subtitle A or subtitle C of title XI [§§ 1101–1147 and 1171–1177] or title XVIII [§§ 1801–1899A] of Pub. L. 99–514 require an amendment to any plan, such plan amendment shall not be required to be made before the first plan year beginning on or after Jan. 1, 1989, see section 1140 of Pub. L. 99–514, as amended, set out as a note under section 401 of Title 26, Internal Revenue Code.

The provisions of subsection (b) of section 516 of the Tariff Act of 1930 [this section], as amended by this act, shall apply only in the case of complaints filed after the effective date of this act [see Effective Date of 1938 Amendment note set out under section 1401 of this title]. The provisions of subsection (b) of section 516 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as in force prior to the effective date of this act, shall continue in force with respect to any proceedings commenced by the filing of a complaint thereunder, except that upon the expiration of thirty days after the effective date of this act, or upon the expiration of thirty days after the date of a decision of the Secretary adverse to the complainant, whichever is the later, any such proceedings in which a protest has not been duly filed shall be deemed to have been terminated unless the complainant shall have filed with the Secretary after the effective date of this act a notice that he desires to protest the classification of, or rate of duty assessed upon, the merchandise.